Rupee Up on Strong Dollar Inflows and Greek Austerity Bill

The rupee rose further in afternoon trading on Monday helped by robust dollar inflows and a bounce back in local shares after an improvement in risk appetite as Greece inched closer to securing the bailout.

* At 1:40 p.m. (0810 GMT), the rupee was 49.19/20 to the dollar, stronger than Friday's close of 49.40/41. It had touched a low of 49.54 in early trade.

* Foreign funds have invested more than $7 billion into domestic debt and equity thus far in 2012, showed data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

* Greece's parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill on Monday to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy.

* Monthly inflation data due on Tuesday is now being awaited for clues on growth and interest rates, traders said.

* Headline inflation rate is expected to have cooled to 6.60 percent year on year in January from 7.47 percent in December, helped by easing food prices, according to a Reuters poll.